Characterizing the body model: how age, sex, and training moderate the body model

We rely on body representation to guide our actions in the environment. We gain knowledge on the size and shape of our bodies both through offline (memory) and online (somatosensory signals) information. Based on evidence from double dissociation studies, body representation has been divided into the body image (offline visual representation of the body) and body schema (online somatosensory representation that guides action). However, there is no agreement on their definitions as different models explain these taxonomies in unique ways. Moreover, a third taxonomy has been recently proposed, the body model. In this thesis, I characterize and contrast the three taxonomies of body representation with respect to somatosensory feedback, the effects of age, sex, and training. I propose that the body model is haptic based and long-term representation, that is sexually dimorphic. I end by discussing whether the body model is a unique representation of the body.